Background: Patients undergoing surgery for oesophageal cancer are at high risk of malnutrition due to pathology and neoadjuvent therapy. This study sought to determine if oesophageal cancer patients undergoing oesophagectomy achieve superior clinical outcomes when preoperative nutritional counselling is performed.
Methods: Oesophageal cancer patients undergoing oesophagectomy were retrospectively divided into cohorts based on those who received (n = 48) and did not receive (n = 58) preoperative nutritional counselling. We compared weight loss, length of stay, 30-day readmission related to nutrition or feeding tube problems, and 90-day mortality.
Results: Per cent weight loss was less in patients who received preoperative nutritional counselling. There was a trend toward decreased mean length of stay and there were fewer readmissions for feeding tube-related complications in patients who received counselling.
Conclusions: Nutritional counselling before surgery may lead to decreased weight loss and reduced readmissions for feeding tube-related complications in patients with oesophageal cancer undergoing oesophagectomy.
Keywords: Nutrition; Oesophageal cancer; Oesophagus; Perioperative education; oesophagectomy.